News Analysis India

Tag: Indian Navy

  • India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant sets off for sea trials from Kochi

    By Express News Service

    KOCHI: India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC 1), which is expected to be inducted into the Indian Navy as INS Vikrant during the first half of 2022, has set off for sea trials from Kochi on Wednesday. The Navy in a tweet described the moment as a proud and historic day for the nation. It is the largest and most complex warship ever to be designed and built in India.

    The design of the aircraft carrier began in 1999, and the keel was laid in February 2009. The carrier was floated out of its dry dock on 29 December 2011 and was launched on August 12, 2013. The basin trials were completed in December 2020. The combat capability of the aircraft carrier is expected to add formidable capabilities and help secure India’s maritime interests in the region.

    The 40,000 tonne vessel set off from Kochi Port at 9.30 am on Wednesday. A big team of 1,200 people, comprising Navy officers, engineers from Cochin Shipyard, original equipment manufacturers and experts have boarded the aircraft carrier and the team will be analysing the performance of various equipment on board the vessel for the next three months. The functioning of propulsion system, power generation and distribution system, turbines and other equipment will be evaluated.

    The 40,000 tonne aircraft carrier was built at Cochin Shipyard at a cost of Rs 23,000 crore. The vessel has 75 percent indigenous equipment and is the most complex warship ever built by India. After completing sea trials, the Navy will start flight trials of fighter jets and helicopters to be operated from the deck of IAC. The Navy will be operating Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), Chetak helicopters, MH-60R multirole helicopters and MiG-29K fighter jets from the deck of the aircraft carrier.

  • India believed to be building naval facility on Mauritian island of Agalega: Report

    By PTI
    DUBAI: India is believed to be building a naval facility on the remote Mauritian island of Agalega in the south-western Indian Ocean, a leading Arab media organisation claimed on Tuesday, citing satellite imagery, financial data and on-the-ground evidence collected by it.

    In a report, Qatar-based Al Jazeera news channel claimed that the military experts who have analysed the evidence collected by its Investigative Unit say an airstrip under construction in Agalega will almost certainly be used for maritime patrol missions by the Indian Navy.

    Agalega, some 12 kilometres long and 1.5 kilometres wide island, is located about 1,100-km from Mauritius’ main island and is home to about 300 people.

    Currently, aircraft use a short 800-metre landing strip to land on Agalega.

    Once completed, the new airstrip will be as long as runways used by the biggest aeroplanes in the world at large international airports, it said.

    “It’s an intelligence facility for India to stage air and naval presence in order to increase surveillance in the wider southwest Indian Ocean and Mozambique channel,” Abhishek Mishra, associate fellow at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) think-tank in New Delhi, was quoted as saying by the news channel.

    “Based on my personal information, my conversations with all these people in my circle, the base will be used for the berthing of our ships and the runway will be mostly used for our P-8I aircraft,” Mishra said, referring to India’s P-8I maritime patrol aircraft that can be used for surveillance, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.

    There was no immediate response from the Indian Navy regarding the Al Jazeera report.

    Samuel Bashfield, a researcher at the National Security College at the Australian National University, said the southwest Indian Ocean is an area where it’s important for India to have areas where their aircraft can support their ships, and also where it has areas it can use as launching pads for operations.

    “I think it’s an absolutely perfect spot for a military base,” Bashfield, whose research focuses on strategic and geopolitical issues in the Indian Ocean, was quoted as saying by the channel.

    The pictures and data show how, over the last two years, the island has become home to hundreds of construction workers living in a semi-permanent camp on the northern tip of the 12km-long island, it said.

    India sought access to the island in 2015 to develop as an air and naval staging point for surveillance of the south-west Indian Ocean, in a sense redolent of facilities other nations operate, such as the joint US-UK base at Diego Garcia, Australian website ‘The Interpreter’ reported early this year.

    “Comparing the most recent images from Google Earth to the same location as seen in 2014 shows a new 3000-metre runway, capable of hosting the Indian Navy’s new Boeing P-8I maritime patrol aircraft and considerable apron overshadows the existing airfield in the middle of the island,” it said in an article.

    It said the project entails a new airport, port and logistics and communication facilities and potentially “any other facility related to the project.”

    Media reports about the military base first surfaced in 2018 but both Mauritius and India have denied that the construction project is for military purposes and say the infrastructure is only to benefit the islanders, the channel said.

    Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth has also categorically denied that the construction is for military purposes.

    “Let me reiterate, most emphatically and in unequivocal terms, that there is no agreement between Mauritius and India to set up a military base in Agaléga,” he said in the Parliament recently.

    The channel said the Mauritian government restated its position that there is “no agreement between Mauritius and India to set up a military base in Agaléga.”

    The Indian Ocean, considered the backyard of the Indian Navy, is critical for India’s strategic interests.

    China has been making concerted efforts to increase its presence in the region.

    “We see in the last few years that the Indian Ocean’s becoming much more multi-polar in nature,” Bashfield said.

    “We see China asserting greater influence and we see various Chinese military platforms in the Indian Ocean,” he said, referring to China’s military base in Djibouti and access to several ports in the region.

    As a result, India has stepped up its game as well, Mishra added.

    “The aim of the Agalega Island agreement which India and Mauritius have entered into is for the island to act as a crucial node in expanding India’s overall footprint in the region,” Mishra said.

  • Indian Navy to deploy four warships in South China sea for two months

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: A task force of four warships from the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet is scheduled to proceed on an over two-month overseas deployment to South East Asia, the South China Sea and Western Pacific, which will include exercises with Quad partners the United States, Japan and Australia, the Defence Ministry announced.

    The deployment of the Indian Naval task force will begin early this month and includes guided-missile destroyer Ranvijay, guided-missile frigate Shivalik, anti-submarine corvette Kadmatt and guided-missile corvette Kora.

    The latter three ships are indigenously designed and are equipped with a versatile array of weapons and sensors, and are Made in India by Defence Shipyards, a Defence Ministry press release said. The warships will participate in a series of exercises during the two-month deployment, including the Malabar 2021 naval exercises with US, Japanese and Australian forces.

    In other bilateral exercises during the deployment, the Indian warships will work with naval units from South China Sea littoral states, including Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, the Defence Ministry said.

    During the deployment in the Indo Pacific, the ships are scheduled to participate in bilateral exercises with the Vietnamese Peoples’ Navy, the Republic of Philippines Navy, Republic of Singapore Navy (SIMBEX), Indonesian Navy (Samudra Shakti) and Royal Australian Navy (AUS-INDEX).

    Further, they would also participate in multilateral exercise MALABAR-21 alongside the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, Royal Australian Navy and the United States Navy in Western Pacific. “These maritime initiatives enhance synergy and coordination between the Indian Navy and friendly countries, based on common maritime interests and commitment towards Freedom of Navigation at sea,” the release said.

    “The deployment of the Indian Navy ships seeks to underscore the operational reach, peaceful presence and solidarity with friendly countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain and to strengthen existing bonds between India and countries of the Indo Pacific,” the defence ministry said.

    The Indian Navy undertakes regular deployments to friendly foreign countries and Indian and the Pacific Ocean regions in furtherance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative of ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region – SAGAR’. Further, such engagements build ‘Bridges of Friendship’ and strengthen international cooperation.

    Moreover, it will enhance military cooperation with friendly countries which is India’s pursuit as per ‘Act East’ policy.

    The South China Sea has become a hotbed of naval activity in recent weeks. Last week, a British aircraft carrier strike group transited the 1.3 million square mile waterway, while an American surface action group and forces from China’s People’s Liberation Army staged exercises in it.

    Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory, turning numerous obscure reefs and sandbars throughout the waterway into man-made artificial islands heavily fortified with missiles, runways and weapons systems.

  • Vice Admiral SN Ghormade takes charge as new Vice Chief of Indian Navy

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, a navigation and direction specialist, on Saturday assumed charge as the new Vice Chief of the Indian Navy.

    Admiral Ghormade has had extensive operational tenures onboard frontline warships of the Indian Navy that included commanding guided missile frigate INS Brahmaputra, submarine rescue vessel INS Nireekshak and minesweeper INS Alleppey.

    He succeeded Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar who retired after 39 years of service. The Flag Officer was holding the tri-service appointment of deputy chief (operations and training) at the headquarters of the Integrated Defence Staff prior to taking over as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.

    Vice Admiral Ghormade is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Naval Staff College at the US Naval War College in Rhode Island, and the Naval War College, Mumbai. He was commissioned in the Indian Navy on Jan 1, 1984, and is known as a navigation and direction specialist.

    His important staff appointments ashore included assistant chief of personnel (human resources development), principal director of personnel and director of naval plans at naval headquarters. In the rank of Vice Admiral, he has held the challenging and coveted appointments of director-general naval operations, chief of staff Eastern Naval Command and controller personnel services.

    The Flag officer was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2017 and Nausena Medal in 2007 by the President of India.

  • More than 90,000 job openings lying vacant in Indian Army: Defence Ministry

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: While the Indian Army is facing a shortage of over 7,900 officers, more than 90,000 vacancies for soldiers including junior commissioned officers are also lying vacant, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said in a written reply to the query raised the Rajya Sabha.

    The Navy, which is considered third in terms of the size among all the three defense forces, stands second in terms of manpower shortages as it is short of 1,190 officers and 11,927 sailors in its ranks.

    Bhatt informed that the Army was short of 7,912 officers and 90,640 soldiers in its ranks and efforts are being made to fill up these vacancies.

    On the Indian Air Force, Bhatt said, “The IAF was short of 610 officers and 7,104 men in its ranks.”

    Bhatt said that the government has taken a number of measures to reduce the shortages.

    “These, inter-alia, include sustained image projection, participation in career fairs and exhibitions, and publicity campaign to create awareness among the youth on the advantages of taking up a challenging and satisfying career,” added Bhatt.

    To encourage the youth to join the Armed Forces, motivational lectures are regularly organized in schools/colleges/other educational institutes and National Cadet Corps (NCC) camps, he further said.

    According to the Defence Ministry, the government has taken various steps to make the job in the Armed Forces attractive including improvement in promotion prospects in the Armed Forces and to fill up vacancies. 

  • India, UK hold two-day joint naval drill in Indian Ocean 

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy and the Carrier Strike Group HMS Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy conducted a two-day Passage Exercise in the Bay of Bengal. 

    The exercise was designed to hone the ability of the two navies to operate together in the maritime domain was held on Wednesday and Thursday. It’s the maiden joint exercise of the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy’s latest aircraft carrier.

    Indian Navy, in a press release, said, “HMS Queen Elizabeth CSG-21 comprises of Type 23 Frigates and an Astute-class submarine in addition to the other surface combatants. Indian Navy was represented by INS Ships Satpura, Ranvir, Jyoti, Kavaratti, Kulish, and a submarine. Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft P8I which is capable of anti-submarine warfare also participated in the exercise.” 

    The ongoing exercise involves the entire spectrum of maritime operations including Anti-Submarine Warfare, Anti-Air, and Anti-Surface warfare. The exercise also witnessed the maiden participation of the F-35 B Lightning which operates from the deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth.

    It was a significant exercise that had the combined forces equating to 10 ships, two submarines, approximately 20 aircraft, and almost 4,000 personnel. 

    Regular IN-RN interactions over the years have augmented their professional content, interoperability, and adaptability in the ever-changing security scenarios. The inter-operability achieved over the years has ensured a quantum jump in the complexity and scale of professional exchanges which is being further enhanced by the presence of the Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group in the Indian Ocean. There are more exercises planned between the two navies in the future.

    The maritime partnership exercise between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy will see them conducting a range of multi-ship, air, sea, and sub-surface maritime evolutions and close-quarter manoeuvring.

    An Indian warship will also participate in the drill with the Royal Navy off the British coast in August.

    The UK High Commission in India said, “This is a month that will see the Royal Navy and Indian Navy meet and work together in two oceans -– beginning in the Indian Ocean as the UK Carrier Strike Group arrives for the first of multiple UK-India exercises and events. Later this summer, both will participate in a separate exercise in the Atlantic Ocean.”

  • India issues tender for Rs 50,000 crore project to build six submarines

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: In a step seen as game-changing for indigenous defence manufacturing, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Monday issued a tender expected to be worth around Rs 50,000 crores for building six conventional submarines under Project-75 India.

    Ministry of Defence in its statement said, “The request for proposal (RFP) was issued to shortlisted Strategic Partners (SPs) or Indian Applicant Companies for the project viz, M/s Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and M/s Larsen & Tubro (L&T).” The project cost is over Rs 40,000 crore.

    With the RFP issued begins the process of procurement and this is expected to take 12 weeks for the Strategic Partners to select the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and reply back to the MoD.

    The Project-75(I) envisages indigenous construction of six modern conventional submarines (including associated shore support, Engineering Support Package, training and spares package) with contemporary equipment, weapons & sensors including Fuel-Cell based AIP (Air Independent Propulsion Plant), advanced torpedoes, modern missiles and state of the art countermeasure systems. 

    This would provide a major boost to the indigenous design and construction capability of submarines in India, in addition to bringing in the latest submarine design and technologies as part of the project. 

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    Indian Navy’s submarine arm has been plagued with obsolescence and is currently operating 12 vintage submarines. Although it has indicted 3 conventional screened class submarines the programme is running late. India has one indigenously manufactured INS Arihant, a nuclear-powered attack submarine.

    As per responses to the Expression of Interest (EoI) received by the government in January 2020 shortlisting of two potential Strategic Partners (SPs), as mentioned above, and five Foreign OEMs was undertaken. 

    The shortlisted SPs to whom the RFP has been issued would be collaborating with any of the shortlisted five Foreign OEMs viz, Naval Group (France),  TKMS (Germany), Rosoboronexport (Russia), Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (South Korea) and Navantia-Spain. 

    These five foreign firms will be the technology partner and will enable SP for the construction of submarines, achieving high levels of indigenization, and ToT for various technologies. 

    As per the MoD, “These OEMs would enable setting up of dedicated manufacturing lines for these submarines in India by providing ToT for submarine design and other technologies and make India the global hub for submarine design and production.”

    As per the MoD, in order to achieve the above the RFP has key features like mandatory level of indigenous manufacture of platforms, ToT for design/ manufacture/ maintenance of submarines and a few critical equipment and systems, setting up of an eco-system in India for such indigenisation and incentivisation for other key technologies, etc. 

    As per the plans, the Indian Navy should be operating 18 conventional submarines, 6 nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs)  and 4 nuclear powered and armed with Ballistic Missile submarines (SSBNs).

  • UK’s carrier strike group enters Indian Ocean, to conduct wargame with Indian Navy

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The UK’s carrier strike group led by aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has sailed into the Indian Ocean region and will carry out a wargame with the Indian Navy later this month in reflection of growing bilateral military ties.

    India military officials said a series of complex drills will be carried out as part of the wargame that is expected to take place around July 26.

    The high commission of the UK in India said the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 2021, led by HMS Queen Elizabeth, has sailed into the Indian Ocean Region after transiting the Suez Canal.

    “Following a series of successful engagements and operations in the Mediterranean it is now sailing east across the Indian Ocean towards India. It will then meet with ships from the Indian Navy to conduct routine maritime exercises,” the high commission said in a statement.

    It said the deployment represents the UK’s commitment to deepening diplomatic, economic and security ties with India and in the Indo-Pacific region.

    “It demonstrates both the UK’s support for the freedom of passage through vital trading routes and for a free, open and inclusive order in the Indo-Pacific,” it added.

    British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace described the deployment of the CSG as a “major moment” for the UK’s defence.

    “The group is sailing the Indian Ocean and will shortly conduct exercises with the Indian Navy, building on our already strong partnership with an important ally and friend,” he said.

    “The deployment illustrates the UK’s enduring commitment to global defence and security, strengthening our existing alliances and forging new partnerships with like-minded countries as we face up to the challenges of the 21st century,” Wallace was quoted as saying in the statement.

    Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the deployment of the CSG marks the start of a new era of defence cooperation with India and allies in the Indo-Pacific.

    “By visiting 40 countries and working alongside our partners, the UK is standing up for democratic values, seizing new trading opportunities and tackling the shared threats we face together,” he said.

    British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, said: “The Carrier Strike Group is a powerful demonstration of our commitment to the security of India and the Indo-Pacific. Its arrival follows the UK’s first International Liaison Officer joining the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region in Gurugram.”

    “Today marks another step towards delivering the ambition set out jointly by our prime ministers in the 2030 Roadmap, bringing our countries, economies and people closer together,” he said.

  • Indian Navy prohibits flying of drones within 3 km radius of its assets

    By PTI
    KOCHI: Indian Navy on Friday prohibited flying of non-conventional aerial objects like drones and UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) within 3 kms of Naval Base, Naval Units and Naval assets.

    “Any non-conventional aerial object, including RPAs (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) found violating this prohibition, will be destroyed or confiscated without any liability, and additionally actions may be initiated under sections 121, 121A, 287, 336, 337 and 338 of Indian Penal Code against the operator,” a Defence statement said here.

    The Navy’s decision came in view of a drone attack on an Indian Air Force base in Jammu last month injuring two personnel. The government authorities said the use of a drone to carry out a terrorist attack marked the beginning of a new security threat for the country.

  • Rajnath Singh reviews Project Seabird work in Karwar

    Express News Service
    KARWAR: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accompanied by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, on Thursday reviewed the ongoing works at the Project Seabird Phase II-A site at the Karwar Naval Base, the country’s largest naval infrastructure project which aims at providing fleet support and maintenance of warships.

    The expanded naval complex will be able to support several major warships and at least 30 vessels, submarines and yard crafts. A state-of-the-art Naval Air Base and maintenance section is also said to be the part of the Phase II-A project, which is an extension of the Naval base totally spread across over 11,000 acres. The project was delayed for some time as the land earmarked for it was forest land and was cleared after the visit of former Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman.

    The Phase II-A project, located on hilly terrain along the coast, involves several technical and environmental challenges. A significant part of the work will be carried out by reclaiming a part of the sea. Rajnath Singh, who was on his first visit, had a hectic schedule with several field visits and briefings regarding the progress of works. He  visited the Ship Lift tower, which, according to naval sources, is a new concept where an entire ship will be lifted to the jetty.

    The Raksha Mantri, accompanied by Admiral Karambir Singh, also did an aerial survey of the Naval area before he landed at the Naval base. On arrival, he was received by Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, and Rear Admiral Mahesh Singh, Flag Officer Commanding, Karnataka Naval Area. He also interacted with the Naval staff and others.